Consider how devastating it can be to suffer side effects from a medication that are potentially more serious that the condition the medication was intended to treat.

Stevens Johnson Syndrome (SJS) is a life-threatening condition that affects the skin, and is an allergic reaction to medication, such as Dilantin. Cell death causes the outer layers of skin to separate from the inner layers of skin. Patients who develop SJS are typically treated in burn units in hospitals because of the risk of infection due to the loss of skin.

SJS and its more severe form, toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), involves the patient’s skin sloughing off as though the patient had suffered burns all over his or her body. Victims often suffer damage to their internal organs, and the patient may be left with severe scarring, permanent vision problems, damage to tear ducts, respiratory problems and loss of hair.

Dilantin is one of the most commonly prescribed anti-seizure medications in the United States and has been marketed by Pfizer and its predecessor companies since 1936. Possible Dilantin side effects are liver damage, irregular heartbeat, decreased blood pressure and birth defects.

Studies have shown a link between Dilantin and SJS and TEN. Symptoms of Dilantin Stevens Johnson Syndrome include fever, sore throat, headache, skin lesions, blisters, and inflammation of the mucous membranes in the mouth, throat, eyes, genital tract and intestinal tract.

SJS can be fatal in about 15 percent of patients, usually as a result of skin lesions becoming infected, or lesions developing in the lungs. According to the Stevens Johnson Foundation, a foundation founded by parents of SJS victims, the majority of cases are in patients aged 20-40, but many of those who die from SJS are children.